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Rethinking Shakespeare's Political Philosophy: From Lear to Leviathan

Online ISBN:
9781474406383
Print ISBN:
9780748682416
Publisher:
Edinburgh University Press
Book

Rethinking Shakespeare's Political Philosophy: From Lear to Leviathan

Alex Schulman
Alex Schulman

Dr

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Published:
31 August 2014
Online ISBN:
9781474406383
Print ISBN:
9780748682416
Publisher:
Edinburgh University Press

Abstract

This book provides a new interpretation of William Shakespeare's plays as a unified statement of early modern political theory. It demonstrates that Shakespeare's plays provide an astonishingly powerful reckoning with the tradition of Western political thought, one whose depth and scope places Shakespeare alongside Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes and others. It therefore challenges the reigning viewpoint among political theorists that Shakespeare affirms ancient concepts of political virtue. It is the first attempt by a political theorist to read Shakespeare, and to place him within the trajectory of political thought as one of the authors of modernity. It looks at issues such as Shakespeare's interpretation of ancient and medieval politics, and describes how he wrestled with issues of legitimacy, religious toleration, family conflict and economic change. In this way, the author shows how Shakespeare produces a fascinating map of modern politics at its crisis-filled birth, offering new readings of many of Shakespeare's greatest plays, and extending the discussion of Shakespeare's political impact beyond his Elizabethan/Jacobean context. It also demonstrates the relevance of narrative and its various modes (comedy, tragedy, history, etc.) to our understanding of the human as a political animal.

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